Electrical terminal-pin block



March 1, 1955 R. P. ARTHUR ET AL ELECTRICAL TERMINAL-PIN BLOCK Filed Feb. 16. 1950 I Z I 4 INVENTORS RICHARD P ARTHUR EDWIN L..EARL.E BYM ATTORNEY United States Patent 2,703,394 ELECTRICAL TERMINAL-PIN BLOCK Richard P. Arthur and Edwin L. Earle, Chicago, 11]., assignors, by mesne assignments, to International Telephone and Telegraph Corporation, a corporation of Maryland Application February 16, 1950, Serial No. 144,536 4 Claims; (Cl. 339-198) This invention relates to terminal-pin blocks adaptable to the interconnection of apparatus such as is used in the telephone industry.

The principal object of the present invention is to provide. a more: practical and flexible form of terminal block construction of the. general type described. and claimed in the pending application of Morris Rose, for an Electrical Terminal-Pin Block, Serial No. 135,400, filed December 28, 1949', now Patent No. 2,643,365, issued June. 23,. 19153.

A specific object is to provide a multi-l evell terminal block of the noted general construction, but wherein the several levels of terminals comprise respective preassem e d strips of terminal members, the preassembled strips .eing stacked .to a height. depending upon the number of levels required in ,the block.

A further object is to. provide a s mple: and-satisfactory form. for the noted preassembled strip, enabling, such. a strip to be used alone in a block, or in combination with similar stripsstacked. one above another.

An important feature of the improved. construction. is that the likelihood of undesiredv electrical paths between corresponding terminal members. in adjacent. levels, and arising where. securing tabs onthe terminal members; extend.intoopeningsthrough the support strips, may .be substantially eliminatedas by (l). staggering the longitudinal rows of the noted openings through the support strips so that they do not coincide WhenOne prea'ssernbled" strip is. stacked above another, or 62) placing a thin barrier s'trip of imperforate insulating. material between adjacent preassembled strips of terminal members.

Another important feature is. that a quantity of the noted strips may be preassembled and placed in stock and terminal blocks of the desired number .of levels of contacts may be assembled from time. to: time from the stock of preassembled: strips as required.

Further features reside in the uniformity .of the assembling operations, and. in arrangement for securing the parts. of astrip assembly together, by forcingthe locaiing tabs ot-the terminal members into undersized holes through the underlying and. overlying insulating support members.

Other objects and features of the invention. will. be come: apparent. as the description: progresses.

Referring now to the drawings, comprising. Figs. 1 to 7, Figs. '7 to 6 show views of a preferred form-of the invention, while Figs 7 shows a. desirable modification.

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a preassembled strip of. terminal members:

Fig. 2 is an. enlarged cross-sectional view taken on lines 22 ofFig- 1;

Fig. 3 is a front view of the terminal block including a number of terminal strips stacked! together;

Fig. 4 is an end elevation view ot the terminal block assembly of Fig 3;

Figs. 5 and 6 are enlarged cross-sectional views taken along lines 5-5 and 66 of Fig. 4; and

Fig. 7 is an end .elevational view of another terminal block assembly utilizing terminal strips of the type shown in Fig. l and including barrier or separation members between strips.

In greater detail, Figs. 1 and 2 illustrate a terminal strip TS comprising a plurality of terminal members 10 aligned in side-by-side relation and fixedly secured between a pair of somewhat similar longitudinal insulation members 11 and 12.

The terminal members 10 are individual lengths of conducting material such as by providing spaced apertures in brass or copper, of relatively small thickness with ends shaped to facilitate connection of electrical leads. thereto. The ends of the terminal members are each rounded and have a relatively small hole for insertion of a wire lead end therein. A pair of confronting notches located on opposite edges of the terminal, just behind of the lead-hole, facilitate winding of wire leads about the terminal to enable establishment of agood. connection thereto. Although the terminal ends are thus illustrated as having a specific shape. it will be apparent that any of a number of terminal end configurations may be utilized to effect good lead connections. without venturing outside the scope of the present invention.

In order to permit assembly of the terminal members 10 with the longitudinal insulating strips 11 and 12, three projections 13 and 14 are provided on the edges of each of the terminal members. Projections 13 comprise a pair of tabs spaced apart on onev edge of each terminal member a distance somewhat less than. the Width of the insulating members 12 with which the terminal member is associated. The third projection 14 is a tab centrally disposed on the opposite edge of the member.

Each. terminal strip TS comprises a series of such terminal members It) aligned in side-by-side spaced relation, with projections 13 and 14 similarly oriented. The longitudinal insulating. member 12 is provided with two outside rows of openings 15 corresponding to the two rows not projections 13 formed by the series of the terminal members Ill. The openings 15 are of such diameter that they permit the. terminal members to be fixedly secured to the member 12 by a press fit of the projections 13 within the openings. Similarly, a central row of openings 16 is provided in the insulating member 11 corresponding to the row of projections 14 formed on the aligned members 10'. Projections 14, like projections 13, are also press-fit in their respective openings 16, causing the member 11 to become fixedly secured to the aligned terminal members 10 on the side of the terminal strip TS opposite the insulating member 12.

The spacing of projections 13 on each terminal member 19 is such that a distance at least slightly greater than the width of each tooth-like projection 14 is provided therebetween. When such spacing is provided, solid insulation is assured between terminal members of adjacent rows of terminal members when terminal strips TS are stacked into terminal blocks Not only are the terminal members solidly insulated from each other by this arrangement, but each of the projections 13 and 14 is substantially enclosed within a separate enclosure by reason of its being surrounded on all but its terminal side by insulation material, thus minimizing the possibility of the terminal projections being subjected to electrical faults by dirt accumulations or contact with condncto rs of other circuits. Such enclosure of the terprojections is effected by similarly orienting all the members within the block with their single projections 14 extending in one direction and the projections '13 in the opposite direction. Orientation in this particular way is facilitated by making the insulating members 11 and 12 of dissimilar colors, such as black and natural, thus enabling, ready identification of the single or double proiection edges of the terminal members 10. Proper orientation of individual strips in a terminalv block may thereby be efiected with great ease, and improperly oriented rows of terminal members may be readily located for correction even though projections 13 and 14 are concealed within the terminabblock assembly.

To further minimize the. possibility of electrical faults by contact with terminal members in adjacent rows of a terminal block, the. insulating members 11 and 12 are made slightly greater in thickness than the length of. the projections 13 and 14 with. which they are associated. Thus, even if by inadvertences a strip of terminal members becomes improperly stacked in a terminal block, air gaps will be provided between the confronting projections of terminal members to prevent shorts from occurring.

Mounting of the terminal strips TS within a unitary block assembly as shown in Figs. 3 through 7 is effected the insulating strips terminal 11 and 12 to accommodate securing bolts or studs 18 members 10. In the present instance, the securing studs 18 are illustrated as spaced in such a manner as to divide each row of terminal members into groups of ten to enable ready numerical identification of individual terminal members. If desired, however, a fewer or greater number of securing studs 18 may be utilized, depending on the length and rigidity of the individual strips.

The securing studs 18 have smooth shanks with threaded end portions. Each stud is vertically disposed with relation to a base channel member 19 through which one end is passed to be threadably secured by a nut 20 on the under side of the channel 19. A longitudinal spacer or base block 21, provided with suitably spaced holes,

is then slipped over the stud shanks to a position above and in direct contact with the base channel 19. The individual terminal strips are then stacked one above another over the spacer 21. A longitudinal cap strip 22 made of insulation material, and a clamping bar 23 made of rigid material such as aluminum or steel, are tightly secured over the stacked terminal strips by nuts 2; threaded on the upper portions of the securing studs The stud apertures 27 are somewhat elongated in the direction of the length of the strips 11 and 12 to facilitate slipping the terminal strips TS over the studs 18 during assembly of the block. The stud apertures 17 provided at one end of each of the terminal strips, however, are circular in shape and are of such size that they snugly and slidably accommodate the end stud of the assembly. By reason of the snug relation of the one end stud 18 within the respective circular holes, lateral and longitudinal misalignment of the individual terminal strips within the terminal block is prevented. If, however, it is found desirable to longitudinally stagger the terminal members of any one row or rows within the terminal block, all the stud apertures of the respective strips of such rows may be appropriately elongated to permit lateral movement of the individual rows of terminal members to the desired staggered position.

Fig. 7 illustrates another terminal block construction utilizing terminal strips TS, with barrier members 30 interposed between rows of terminals formed by the strips. The barrier members are imperforate except for spaced apertures provided to accommodate securing studs for the block and are made of sheet insulation material having the same general length and width as the terminal strips 11 and 12 so that all the securing apertures 13 and 14, regardless of number, will be covered. Thus, use of the barrier members 30 eliminates the need for distinguishing between upper and lower supports 11 and 12 to insulate terminals of adjacent rows of the block from each other, since sufficient protective insulation is provided between terminal members to eliminate the need for staggered orientation of the securing projectons 13 and 14. Such an arrangement also permits the two support members to be made identical if desired, with three rows of securing apertures in each, thereby further facilitating flexibility and economy of construction.

Although there has been described herein, what, at present, are considered the preferred embodiments of the invention, various modifications of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art and it is our desire that the appended claims shall cover all modifications and arrangements which come within the scope and spirit of our invention.

We claim:

1. A terminal strip comprising identical blade-like terminal members standing on edge and aligned in sideby-side relation, securing projections disposed on opposite edges of said terminal members, a pair of longitudinal support members overlying and underlying said aligned terminal members for association with said securing projections, each of said support members having apertures accommodating in press-fit relation the projections on the associated edge of said terminal members, thereby to hold said terminal strip in rigid assembled relatron.

2. A terminal strip assembly comprising blade-like terminal members aligned on edge in side-by-side relation, each of said terminal members having two spaced projections on one edge and a single projection on an opposing edge, the single projection being opposite the space between the said two projections and being dimensionally less than said space and located symmetrically with respect thereto, a first longitudinal insulating member having two spaced rows of openings corresponding to the double row of projections formed on one side of said aligned terminal members, and a second longitudinal insulating member having a single row of spaced openings corresponding to the row of projections formed on the other side of said aligned terminal members, said terminal projections being fixedly secured in press-fit relation in the corresponding apertures of the insulating members with which they are associated, thereby holding said row of terminal members in rigid aligned relation.

3. A strip-like terminal assembly adapted to be used individually and to be stacked to comprise a block of stacked assemblies, said strip comprising blade-like terminal members standing on edge and aligned in side-byside relation, securing projections longitudinally spaced in staggered relation alternately on the opposite edges of each said terminal member, a pair of longitudinal terminal support members respectively overlying and underlying said aligned terminal members for association with said securing projections, each of said support members having apertures fixedly receiving the associated ones of said securing projections, each said support member being imperforate at locations opposite the respective said apertures in the other, whereby each of any two immediately adjacent support strips in a stack of said assemblies covers the said apertures in the other, and thereby acts as a positive barrier to the passage of current from the concerned said projections to the terminal members in the immediately adjacent assembly.

4. A terminal block comprising a plurality of terminal strips arranged in stacked relation, each of said terminal strips comprising a plurality of blade-like terminal members aligned in side-by-side relation, each terminal member having a pair of spaced tab-like securing projections on one edge and a single tab-like securing projection intermediate of the pair of projections disposed on an opposing edge, the spacing between said pair of projections being slightly greater than the width of said single projection, a first longitudinal support member having two spaced rows of openings corresponding to the double row of projections formed on one side of said aligned terminal members, a second longitudinal support member having a single row of spaced openings corresponding to the single row of projections formed on the other side of said aligned terminal members, the projections of said terminal members being inserted in their corresponding apertures, the apertures in both said support members being slightly smaller in diameter than the width of projections to which they correspond to establish a press-fit securing relation of said projections within their corresponding apertures, said support strips having a thickness greater than the length of projections with which they are associated to prevent the projections from protruding beyond the limits of the apertures within which they are inserted, and means holding said stack of terminal strips in a unitary block assembly.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,071,713 Terrill Feb. 23, 1937 2,424,986 Hubbell et al Aug. 5, 1947 2,470,618 Holden May 17, 1949 FOREIGN PATENTS 236,749 Great Britain July 16, 1925 692,074 Germany June 12, 1940 

